Rumors
by eorocks
Summary: Just a short sweet story


AN: Just something short and sweet. I just needed a break from all the heavy drama in Deception! Enjoy!

EOEOEOEOEO

"There you are." Olivia said as she walked out on the balcony. She saw Elliot leaning off to the side with his forearms against the railing. His hands were grasping the neck of a beer bottle and his eyes were focused down at the street below. The sun was setting in the city, granting a slight reprieve from the heat of a New York summer day. She walked up to the railing and when he didn't acknowledge her presence, she mimicked his gesture. "Needed a break?" She reached out and handed him an extra beer she had in her hand, and he took it, still staring out into the city.

"It's like a high school mixer in there." He shook his head. "If I wanted to have a beer with the detectives and the uniforms from the other precincts, I'd call them up and invite them over."

"You don't want to _celebrate our success_?" Olivia asked with a small laugh, using her free hand to make air quotes around the last three words. He knew she hated these forced events as much as he did. She let out a sigh, following his gaze to the street below. "Yeah, these things kind of suck."

"Looked like _you_ were having a good time." Elliot said, taking a sip of beer.

"I was just trying to be social." She said. "I met some new people. Some of those guys aren't bad."

"They're just trying to impress you." He said, still not looking at her.

She let out a small laugh. "They're going to be in for a big shock when they find out I can't do much to help them advance their career. Too many marks on my jacket."

"I don't think it was help with their careers they're looking for Liv." He took a sip of his beer, thinking about the way she drew attention from so many men in the crowd as they walked in together. He'd almost wanted to wrap his arm around her and take her back home. "It's that damned dress."

Olivia looked down at her dress. She'd purposefully selected it because it wasn't particularly revealing and was a respectable length. "It must be fun to be one of your daughters." She said, laughing. "There is nothing revealing about this dress."

Elliot took another drink of beer. She could wear a gunny sack and still look damned gorgeous. "Doesn't matter." He said.

Olivia decided to leave it alone. Seven years together as partners and she was still confused about how the man could have so much confidence in her to do her job and protect his ass, but not trust her to protect herself.

A few minutes of silence between them passed. They both drank their beers as dusk overtook the city.

Finally, Olivia broke the silence. "Are you going to tell me what that was about in there?" she asked.

That got his attention, and he looked over at her briefly before turning his gaze back to the city. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Olivia refrained from rolling her eyes. She had a pretty good idea of what had happened in there. "It's not up to you to defend my honor you know." She said with a small laugh. She'd seen Elliot light into a small group of younger cops, anger in his expression and his finger stabbing at them as he spoke. He'd glanced over at her when he was done, and then turned and walked off in the opposite direction, shaking his head. She had to assume that whatever was said that he didn't like had been about her. "Whatever they said, it's not anything I haven't heard before."

"They're fucking idiots." He said. As he said the words, he could still feel the anger just below the surface. He'd had enough of the parade of perps, uniforms, techs and sometimes even other detectives, and their moronic comments. He knew she heard them every once in a while, but she had no idea about all of the things that were said about her when she wasn't around.

Oliva took another quick sip of her beer. She knew she shouldn't have to put up with that shit from fellow officers, but she also knew she was a woman in a mostly male-dominated career, and that she had to try to get along. For the most part, it didn't really bother her; she had pretty thick skin. She swore sometimes it was harder on Elliot. She just focused on doing her job well, and she knew she was a better detective than half the men on the force. That trumped their stupid comments any day. Every day. She moved slightly closer to him on the railing, their arms still about a foot apart. "What was it this time?" She said with a small laugh, wanting to lighten the mood. "Were they trying to guess my favorite sexual position?"

He looked over at her sharply, surprised by her words. That conjured up all kinds of mental images that he had worked hard to keep at bay, and he tried to force them out of his mind.

Olivia saw the look on his face. "OK. I guess that wasn't it. Were they…"

"Stop." He said, glancing over at her again and shaking his head. He didn't want to hear what she was going to say next.

Olivia laughed again. "El. If I took offense to every crude remark anyone said to me or about me, I'd spend my entire life being mad. It's not worth it." She nudged his arm. "You shouldn't let them get to you."

"They were out of line." He said, leaning over to set his empty bottle down and taking a sip from the fresh one Olivia had given him.

"You can't punch every man that says something about me El. That's the quickest way to an early retirement." She had seen Cragen and some of the other brass in the room watch the altercation between Elliot and the other men. She placed a hand on his arm and squeezed lightly. "I'm a big girl and you don't have to fight every man that wonders what I'm like in bed."

Elliot pulled his arm from her grasp and looked back over at her. "Really? You're just going to put up with that shit? You're a better cop than half the men in there." He said, the sound of his voice escalating.

"I know." She said.

"You could shoot circles around them."

"I know."

"I bet you could take down probably 75% of those clowns."

"I agree." She smiled at him and she could see the confusion on his face at her attitude. She leaned in slightly. " _I_ know that and _you_ know that, so what do we care about their stupid comments? It just shows their lack of character." She looked back out at the city lights below. "Why on Earth do I care about what they think I do with my private life. I can sleep with all the men in Manhattan and it's none of their goddamned business."

Elliot was quiet for a minute, having an internal debate about what to say next. "They think you're sleeping with me." He said it very quietly and even he could hear the pensiveness in his voice.

"Oh." She said softly. Then she was quiet. It wasn't the first time she'd heard that rumor, and she had a hard time believing it had been the first time Elliot had heard it. She debated how to respond to his comment. Typically, they were both really good at changing the subject when anything of a personal nature…or even close to it…came up. But tonight, she was feeling bold. Maybe it was the three beers that had loosened her up…or maybe it was the fact that Elliot had actually brought it up. She looked over at him and saw the muscles in his jaw twitching. "Certainly that's not the first time you've heard that."

He looked over at her. "No." He shook his head. He was a little surprised that she wasn't a little pissed. And that it seemed she had heard the rumor before. "A man and a woman can't work together without sleeping together?"

Olivia took another sip of her beer, tipping the bottle back as she emptied it. She leaned over and set it on the ground at her feet. "Well, it does happen more than you think.""

"Yeah, I guess." He said. He dropped his head between his shoulders, looking down at the street below. "Partners get close."

It was quiet for another thirty seconds.

"We're close." Olivia said, surprised as the words came out of her mouth.

Elliot lifted his head and looked over at her, realizing how, over the course of their conversation, she'd moved closer. Her arm was almost touching his and he looked up into her eyes. The streetlights cast a dim glow over their space on this fourth floor balcony, but he could see her eyes staring intently back at his. "We are."

Olivia tugged her bottom lip in between her teeth and looked away, unable to keep looking at him. "Some people think we're too close."

"Do you?" he asked.

Olivia thought for a moment. "I don't know." She said simply. "I guess it depends."

"Depends on what?" he asked. He almost held his breath, anxious to hear what she would say. There was something about the darkness and the mood that was allowing truths to be spoken…maybe for the first time ever. He didn't want it to end, but he was afraid of what she would say.

Olivia bit down on her lower lip…what she wanted to say was on the tip of her tongue. It has rattled around in her consciousness for a long time, but she had always been afraid to put a voice to it. Even to herself. Her feelings for Elliot went beyond mere partnership, but she'd tamped those feelings down for so long, she didn't dare let them out. It was too dangerous…especially when she wasn't sure what she was to him. She looked over at Elliot and she could almost see the look on his face…part fear, part hope. "Depends on what we are to each other." She played it safe with her words, not revealing too much. But her heart was skipping wildly in her chest, waiting to hear what he'd say next.

He didn't say anything, but kept staring at her. He turned his body slightly towards her, lifting his arms off the railing. He watched her as she did the same. He reached over and lightly pushed back her hair, tucking it behind her ear. It felt oddly intimate to him and he swore he heard her breath catch.

A million thoughts were racing through his mind…there was so many ways he wanted to answer her. He wanted to tell her that she was the first person he wanted to see every morning, and the last person he wanted to see every night. He wanted to tell her that the thing he feared most in this world was her leaving him…finding another partner…or a man to fall in love with that would take her away from this life. He wanted to tell her that when he lay in his bed at home alone at night, he wished she was pressed up against him, his hands running through her hair as she lay her head on his chest.

He took a deep breath. "I know what you are to me." He whispered. He ran his hand down to her jaw, letting it rest there. His ran his thumb lightly against her cheek. "You're everything to me."

Olivia didn't know what she'd been expecting him to say, but she hadn't expected that. Nor the emotion behind it.

He didn't give her an opportunity to respond. "Tell me you've thought about it." He said softly, running his hand down to rest on her shoulder. "About us."

"Elliot." She said softly, placing an open palm on his chest.

His heart sunk a little at her tone…at the use of his name. He knew he'd said too much and now she was going to tell him that she didn't feel the same way he did. He swallowed hard, steeling himself for whatever she said next.

Olivia looked down at her hand on his chest. She could feel his heart beating just as wildly as her own and she took a measure of comfort in the fact that he was just as scared of this as she was. She took a step closer and stared into his eyes, thankful that the heels she was wearing made her almost as tall as him. She parted her lips slightly. "I have." She whispered. As soon as the words left her mouth, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his gently, drawing his upper lip between hers. She released it gently and hesitated, waiting for a reaction from him.

"Liv." It came from somewhere deep inside of him. Almost a moan. He couldn't believe her lips had been pressed to his. He ran his hands up and cupped her cheeks, dropping his mouth to hers. He felt her hands on his waist and he ran one hand through her hair, cocking his head slightly and deepening the kiss.

They were both involved in the kiss now…feeling each other out…neither one dominant or submissive…much like the push and pull of their partnership. Olivia slid her tongue in between his lips, and Elliot was quick to meet her. He was cupping the back of her head now, kissing her without restraint and he heard her moan against his mouth.

Elliot released he then, pressing his head against her forehead.

"I imagined it would be like this but I didn't know…" he couldn't put into words what he was feeling right now. He still had his forehead pressed to hers and was running his hands up and down her back. "Christ Liv."

Olivia could feel the flush in her body; the kisses from Elliot had been heated…as if the years of anticipation had been unleashed in those few moments. She ran her hands back around to his chest, flattening her palms against him. "Take me home Elliot." She whispered, dragging her eyes from his chest to his lips to his eyes.

He ran a hand up to her cheek, looking back and forth between her eyes. "I'm not asking you for that." They had both been bold tonight, but he was glad she was the one that had initiated the physical contact. He didn't think he would have been able to, no matter how badly he wanted to. But he didn't expect her to fall into bed with him.

"You didn't ask." She whispered, her eyes never wavering.

The thought of getting her back to her apartment…of making love to her…sent a rush of heat through his body. But he needed her to know that wasn't all he wanted from her. "This is about more than sex." He said, flattening his palm against her cheek, their eyes still locked. "I don't want to rush things."

Olivia ran her hands down his chest and then back up again, giving him a sultry smile. "Seven years is a helluva lot of foreplay." She leaned in, ghosting her mouth over his. "Besides, didn't you hear? We've been sleeping together for years."


End file.
